Data Breach Costs Hit $7.2 Million and Show No Sign of Leveling Off - Slide 4

The number of breaches caused by negligence edged up one point to 41 percent and averaged $196 per record, up 27 percent from 2009. This steady trend reflects the ongoing challenge of ensuring employee and partner compliance with security policies.

Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC) and the Ponemon Institute have released the findings of the 2010 Annual Study: U.S. Cost of a Data Breach, which reveals data breaches grew more costly for the fifth year in a row. The average organizational cost of a data breach increased to $7.2 million and cost companies an average of $214 per compromised record, markedly higher when compared to $204 in 2009. The study also found that for the second straight year organizations' need to respond rapidly to data breaches drove the associated costs higher. The sixth annual Ponemon Cost of a Data Breach report is based on the actual data breach experiences of 51 U.S. companies from 15 different industry sectors.

To protect the company from those insiders who abuse their privileged access and from hackers with stolen credentials, many companies are turning to a privileged access management (PAM) solution. ... More >>